The present invention relates to both a process for automating the attachment of a clip or closure device to a product and a resulting article manufactured by such a process.
It is well known in the art to associate a clip or closure device with a variety of products. Some examples include product packaging, resealable pouches, flexible tubing, piping or other conduits, and fabrics. In essence many flexible, deformable materials are often associated with clips and closure devices.
In the medical field pouches containing fluids are often used for a variety of purposes. For instance, saline solutions, medical wastes, and chemical hot and cold packs are considered but a few of the uses. Similar pouches are used for phase change materials, one such example being that of an ice pack.
One possible feature that these products have in common is a clip that contains some form of clamping mechanism to capture the pouch. A hinge is often disposed in some manner on the clip enabling the clamping mechanism to move selectively from an open to a closed position. The clip is secured or maintained in a clamped position by the use of a latch mechanism.
One form of hinge commonly used to join the two clamping mechanisms or clamping jaws is a strap-like hinge, known in the art as a “living hinge”. However, this construction is not easily adapted to the automated sorting and feeding of the clip and subsequent attachment of the clip to the product. Due to the inherent flexibility of the living hinge, the clamping surfaces move with respect to one another when the clip is moved through an automated assembly process. This results in a random orientation of the clip making it impractical for an automated assembly process.
As a result, clips of this construction are often manually attached to their associated products. Among other things this results in limited production capacity. As such, there exists a need for a process for automating the attachment of a clip or closure device to a product. Such a process would lend itself to automated sorting, feeding, and assembly of a finished article.